The Stainless Steel Rat for President / Harry Harrison

This time the Special Corps has given the Rat a daring
assignment - liberate a backward tourist planet from the clutches of an
aging dictator. With his lovely but lethal wife, Angelina, and his two
stalwart sons, James and Bolivar, diGriz pits ballots against bullets in
the fight for freedom. He's vowed to restore truth, justice, and
democracy to the world of Parisio-Aqui, if he has to lie, cheat, and
steal to do it.

What is left for the Stainless Steel Rat to fight for? Democracy, of
course—a rather ironic struggle for Slippery Jim diGriz, who is much
more at home in the criminal underworld. But Harrison couldn’t resist
the politician-as-crook angle, so Jim must run for president of the
planet Parisio-Aqui.

Harrison must have known a little Spanish and/or Esperanto, judging
by the frequency of those languages showing up in the Rat books. If the
reader has some familiarity with them, there are amusing little plays on
words here and there.

Angelina, Jim’s wife, is still putting up with him and putting a
damper on any wooing of lovely locals that he would like to do. And his
grown sons, James and Bolivar, are chips off the old block. It seems to
me that Jim’s alcohol intake may be a bit higher than in previous books,
but his ability to think on his feet is still keeping him one jump
ahead of his adversaries.

Harrison obviously was fond of the Stainless Steel Rat and enjoyed
returning to see what he had been up to lately. This series has laid
down templates for charming con-men and criminals in science fiction,
introducing the less-than-innocent main character that is presented with
humour and knowingness. Still, you wouldn’t want to read the books one
right after the other, or the formula would become very cloying.

This is book number 179 in my science fiction & fantasy reading project.

About Me

I've made it to 50 years old. Lots of my ancestors lived to 100 or close to that, so I think I'm close to being exactly middle aged. I plan to fill the Next 50 years with lots of interesting projects and fun.